Zach Smith Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Looking for some help with my original SBE. I have shot many thousands of rounds and the gun has been extremely reliable. I have a sure cycle and replaced the extractor a couple times but no problems with the gun. Recently it started not firing on a second or third shot. It is intermittent happening. After the shot sometimes the next shell will load, the bolt will be rotated completely closed with the new round in the pipe. If I pull the trigger again, nothing, not even a click. I can’t tell if the firing pin is not cocking back or if it is stuck in the cocked position. I have noticed the lifter is locked down meaning I can’t push it up and load another shell in the magazine tube. What part is malfunctioning or worn and needs replaced? Thanks Zach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Rose Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Start with taking the trigger group out of the receiver and check to see if the hammer is staying cocked, the disconnector is functioning properly, and the cartridge drop lever is rotating on the hammer pin correctly and has spring pressure to return to its down position when the hammer is cocked. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remarkable Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Hi Zach, Very good insight from Steve, he always provided exceptional posts to the forum. Please PM if you can not get this figured out. I have been through nearly 1475 Benelli's over the years. You may want to look at this as well. Search "Understanding Light Strikes Cause & Effect" Mark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Smith Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Thank you both. I will check out the above suggestions and report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Smith Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 Mark and Steve. I tore it down and started checking. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the trigger assembly. Everything appears to be functioning properly. I was shocked to find the firing pin was sticky in the bolt head. I have had this gun for 20 something years and never cleaned inside the tiny hole on the rotating bolt. I have it moving freely now and think this very well could have been the problem. I plan on making it out this weekend for some duck hunting. I will report back if it happens again but I have a pretty strong suspicion that was the issue. Thank you both for taking the time to help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remarkable Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Zach, Please let us know how it goes. Many guns that I work on have this issue to some extent. You will find your issue will be resolved if you cleaned out the bolt like described in photo essay: "Understanding lIght Strikes". Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Smith Posted January 21 Author Share Posted January 21 Duck hunt on Friday and goose hunt today. Gun performed flawlessly! I didn’t ream out the hole, I just cleaned it really good with Breakfree and an undersized drill bit by hand. No drilling, just cleaning. You can bet I will be adding this to my end of the season cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCswamp13 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 I love a happy ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bambihunter Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Glad you figured it out Zach. Being inertia guns, they come apart easily and the bolts are so quick to clean. I have made a decent amount of money over the years buying "jam-o-matics" from fellow duck hunters. The bolt being dirty has only been the issue. Usually it is people using wet oil in their action or magazine. Shells get dropped, picked up, and put in the wet action and it sticks. A little bit of this and it gums up. After just doing a cleanup and proper DRY LUBE in the mag, and bolt rails, they are good to go usually. I've even sold them back to previous owner more than a couple of times. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Smith Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 lol. That’s a pretty good business plan!! One of my hunting buddies brought his original SBE over and it was completely caked up around the firing pin and spring as well. We have hunted together for 20 years and he said he had never cleaned his either. I am interested in the dry lube you use. I only use Breakfree on the Benelli. Only thing I have found that functions well even when we hit 0 degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bambihunter Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Generally I use Otis Dry Lube for easy to spray parts. It also has a spray straw to get it further back where you need it. To be honest, it was the first one I tried and I was impressed and have stuck with it. I like that they have a tube version so I can put it on smaller parts. I've heard good things from my military buddies about Nano Dry Lubricant. I know one guy that uses QWIK Dr Lubricant on his offshore fishing gear and his high dollar camera tripods and celestial tracker. It website states its functional temperature range unlike many of the others. As long as it's rated for the temp range you intend to use it in (and factoring the gun heating under repeated firing), most dry lubricants are fairly modern tech and should serve you well. I put it on fairly heavily on the rails and the part of the bolt that slides on it to prevent any galling. That aside, everything else gets a light spray. I generally pull the barrel and disassemble the bolt at the end of the particular season or if the gun gets rained on or dunked. It certainly doesn't really need it that often but I am really caring toward my guns and my original SBE I bought in ~94 and it holds a special place in my heart. I first tried the dry lube after my bolt action rifle froze solid one year elk hunting when it was below zero. Ever since, Rem-Oil has been relegated to the outside on guns that I don't shoot. It's never even had a tight bolt in cold weather once I switched to dry. BreakFree is a great product. Their synthetic oil is good to low temps as you have found. If I hadn't already switched over to dry, that would be my choice too. After I use the copious amount of Rem-Oil that I have that is likely what I'll use for outside use on safe queens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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